“We received the cash of $4.5 million early this morning. We have abandoned the ship and it is preparing to sail away,” a pirate who gave his name as Geney told Reuters news agency

In March, a large group of 30 to 50 Somali pirates seized the Indonesian flagged and owned ship about 320 nautical miles northeast of the Yemeni island of Socotra. The Sinar Kudus was on its way to the Netherlands from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi when it was hijacked.

“The ship is now on its way to the nearest secure port and is being heavily guarded by Indonesian warships,” David Batubara, vice president of Samudra Indonesia told reporters late on Sunday.